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I'm not surprised this effort didn't please the majority of it's listeners. I suppose the earlier Yes works and some of the solo works are just too hard of an act to follow. However, I was fortunate that I bought the original cassette in the .99 bin, so I had nothing invested and no expectations beyond getting a buck's worth of music. Instead I found a strange mixture of tunes I will always love (Order of the Universe, Brother of Mine) and some that are OK but nothing to get excited about. It did make an impression, though, and I have to say that if you approach it with an open mind you won't be too dissapointed. I would have to define it as mostly experimental. And, as some the other reviews here state, it does leave you scratching your head a bit. For my part, I can only wonder why it can bo so great and so mundane! I suppose a lot of the older groups have trouble meshing after a while, but if that is due to too much familiarity or the fact that they have diverged too much during solo projects is anybody's guess. I think of Yes and any project they get involved in much like a do ELP's- it may not be art, but I do love to see them together again, and I will support anything that allows them to do so in the future.

One of the better modern efforts of the then former Yes men.Released in 1989, this CD holds up well in listen ability. Also included is wonderful Roger Dean cover art. Tony Levin, a great musician in his own right,is playing the bass. As far as I'm concerned, his name should have been a part of the group name too.Highlights from the disc are "Fist of Fire", a steady rock grove with exceptional keyboard work from Rick Wakeman; "Brother of Mine", a very catchy ten minute tune in three parts with Geoff Downes given a writing credit in "iii) Long Lost Brother of Mine"; "The Meeting", a love ballad (would Yes ever do that?) just Anderson and Wakeman here, thoughtful lyrics with a piano and light "mood" keyboards, "Quartet", interesting Steve Howe acoustic guitar work, another love themed song, a lot of Yes references were worked into the lyrics; "Teakbois", a song with a Jamaican flavor, steel drum type keyboard work, very different from any previous Yes work; "Order of the Universe", A rockin' Yes heyday type song, big keyboards, drums, electric guitar, and a big delivery with Jon Anderson's vocals; "Let's Pretend, wonderful acoustic work by Steve Howe, and soft accompaniment by Rick Wakeman, gives a good feel to the song.In a nutshell, this CD sounds just like it's titled. They are not trying to be Yes. Their names and body of work were big enough to carry this disc, and they put forth a wonderful effort. Highly recomended. I only gave 4 of 5 stars because of the way it was marketed. It has the buyer thinking it's Yes music, when it's clearly the first ABWH CD.

I don't remember liking this especially, or having thought that it could have been better, given this was the core of what was the most creative Yes lineup. But having re-purchased it and set it in the player, I was amazed at how much of this music I really like, and how lyrically, what seemed like Anderson platitudes disconnected from real life, now in the wake of Afghanistan and Iraq, actually come off as quite prescient.What still disconcerts me is Wakeman's wheedling synthesizers. There is a particularly nasal quality they sound that is entirely distracting from what Anderson, Bruford, Levin and Howe are up to. I wonder if it would not have been better to mix him further down and perhaps add some real strings.....The extra texture provided by Tony Levin is what gives this disc a punch unlike any other Yes disc. I intend no slight toward Chris Squire, but in Levin, especially with his rhythm buddy Bruford, an entirely different dialectic is at play. And that dialectic is what makes this CD so alive in the 21st Century. Yes, like King Crimson, was never quite the same when Bruford left. Alan White and Pat Mastellotto are terrific percussionists in their own right, but that isn't the same as Bruford. Bruford's own aesthetic is never more heighthened than when playing against, in the midst of, and in step with Tony Levin. They are God's rhythm section.This was absolutely an Anderson Bruford driven disc. Thank God they did it. It was a glimpse into what might have been, and for that, the disc is a worthy addition to any Yes, Anderson or Bruford fan's collection. Howe must have been in a state of flux with this disc, a state that would not resolve itself until the end of the millenium with MAGNIFICATION. But there are moments....14 years later, I am impressed with this disc. Somethings age better than others.

This is a great recording. WITH OR WITHOUT CHRIS SQUIRE and sans any negative comments from Bill Bruford about this or that. NOTHING EVER HAPPENS THE WAY BB WANTS IT. I love BB, but I can't ever remember him saying anything positive in like 20 years. Good drummer, permanent cynic. -which, in all fairness makes him the artist that he is. Although, a little dab will do you reading interviews.Chris Squire. I wish he was on this recording, but did anyone listen to the BIG GENERATOR bass work that CS did? Barely bass on that recording. So, the absent bass player wanted to keep on NOT playing bass in the Trevor Rabin configuration of YES. I love Chris Squire (and if you check out the Bass Playing on the new YES release MAGNIFICATION, you really can see how he can still play) but he was absent in the 80's. No wonder JA went out to find some folks to play with.Most of the negative reviews are pretty amusing... people will say... 'this is not a YES recording' or the classic statement... 'This cd has a couple of good tracks like 'birthright Fist of Fire and Brother of Mine but the other tracks are horrid.'Look folks. If indeed the only three good tracks were BIRTHRIGHT FIST OF FIRE AND BROTHER OF MINE this album would be great anyway. Rick Wakeman getting bashed about for the wonderful recording of THE MEETING is totally baffling.Yes fans are neurotic, but the inability to enjoy a good recording because someone is not in it that you like or you think it is not CLOSE TO THE EDGE PART SIX is pretty interesting.Yes is a soap opera, every line up is a new season. Watching people getting booted out of this band has provided me with a lifetime of enjoyment, music aside.Grin.